Collar and necktie support



J ly 1942. D. P. KILLEN 2,289,971

COLLAR AND NECKTIE SUPPORT Fild Sept. 5, 19:59

J na Zd Fiji/Z1691- J) r p 164 Ago/me Patented July 14, 1942 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAR AND NECKTIE SUPPORT Donald P. Killen,Glendale, Calif. Application September 5, 1939, Serial 'No. 293,346

1 Claim.

My invention relates to a collar and necktie support of the particulartype disclosed in my application for U. S. Letters Patent filed June 19,1939, Serial No. 279,923, and the principal objects of my invention are,to generally improve upon and simplify the construction of the collarand necktie supportdisclosed in my aforesaid patent application, as wellas other existing forms of similar devices, and to provide a supportthat is constructed wholly from resilient wire, either plain or of thetype wherein a filler wire is wrapped throughout its length with aclosely coiled wire.

Further objects of my invention are, to provide a collar and necktieholder wherein the upper portions of the straight legs at the side ofthe support are waved or kinked so as to provide added resiliency to theholder and to cause the same to more uniformly distribute the pressureproduced by the holder upon the engaged portions of the collar and uponthe wearers neck and further, to shape the upper cross member of theholder so that it conforms with the longitudinal and lateral curvatureof the connected forward ends of the collar.

A further object of my invention is, to provide a holder of thecharacter referred to having improved means for engaging and exertingforward pressure on the knotted portion of the necktie or that portionthat is positioned between the pointed forwardends of the collar, thuscausing the engaged portion of the tie to project forwardly between thefront ends of the collar, thus adding materially to the appearance anddressedeffect of the collar and necktie.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists incertain novel features of. construction and arrangement of parts thatwill 'be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the upper portion of a shirt, itscollar and the necktie that is applied to said collar, with dotted linesshowing my improved holder in position for use.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of the holder.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the holder with dotted lines showing portionsof the collar and necktie with which the holder is associated.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of a holder constructed from a singlepiece of wire and having a modified form of the necktie engaging member.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the form of holder illustrated in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of a holder formed from a singlepiece of wire and having afurther modified form of the tie engagingmember.

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of a holder formed from a singlepiece of wire and having a further modified form of the tie engagingmember.

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view of the upper portion of a modifiedform of the holder.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing and particularly tothe constructions illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, it will beseen thatthe main body or frame of the holder is formed from wire that is bent toform a pair of sub stantially straight legs 1!) and an upper crossconnecting member I l. The wire forming this main frame may be a singlepiece of plain wire or it may be of the type frequently used on stringedmusical instruments wherein a section of wire is wrapped with closelywound wire, the latter generally being smaller in diameter than thefiller wire.

The upper connecting member H is curved lengthwise so that itsintermediate portion is positioned below its ends and said member isalso curved so that its intermediate portion projects forwardly of theplane occupied by its ends and as a result of this double curvature, themember ll fits snugly in the front portion of the folded collar betweenthe collar band and the outer exposed portion of the collar and saidcurvature also conforms with the shape of the front portion of thecollar when positioned on the neck of the wearer.

From the ends of the upper cross member H, the legs l0 extend downwardlyand the upper portions of the wire in the legs and those portions thatjoin the ends of the curved cross member H are waved or kinked laterallyto form a'plurality of short half loops l2 that produce added resiliencyto the holder, particularly between the upper ends of the legs and theends of the upper cross member, so as to cause the holder to more evenlydistribute its pressure upon the engaged portions of the collar and uponthe neck of the wearer.

Portions of the filler wire project a short distance from the lower endsof the legs and these portions are pointed to provide short prongs l3that engage in the fabric adjacent the lower ends of the points at thefront of the collar and immediately above these points, the wire isformed into loops l4 that provide stops which defineathe length of thefabric engaging prongs.

Secured to the center of the curved upper cross member II and projectingoutwardly and downwardly is a short section I5 of resilient material,preferably wire, and the lower end thereof terminates in a prong I6 andthere being a stop loop I! formed immediately above said prong.

When the holder is applied for use, the prong I6 engages in the knottedportion of the wearers tie and due to the resiliency and inclinedposition of the finger I5, the engaged portion of the tie or thatportion between the forward ends of the overlying portions of the collaris pressed forwardly between said ends, thereby adding materially to thedressed appearance of the collar and tie.

When the holder is applied for use with the prongs I3 engaged in thefabric in the lower portions of the front points of the collar, theresiliency of the legs I0 and particularly the waved portions I2 betweenthe upper ends of said legs and the upper cross member II exert acertain amount of upward pressure on the ends of member I I, thuscausing the same to fit snugly within the folded front portion of thecollar so as to maintain the front points of the latter in properposition and effecting an equal distribution of the developed pressureon the engaged portions of the collar and upon the neck of the wearer.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the frame ofthe holder including the necktie engaging member is formed from a singlepiece of wire, either plain or wrapped, and

in this construction the intermediate portion of the curved upper crossmember II is formed into a substantially circular loop I8 that projectsdownwardly and forwardly from said upper cross member and depending fromthe lower end of this loop is a prong I9 that is adapted to engage inthe knotted portion of the tie.

In order to conform to the curved rear surface of the knotted portion ofthe tie, the depending loop I8 may be slightly curved in horizontalsection as illustrated in Fig. 5, thus forming a concave seat or bearingfor the tie.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig 6, the holder is formedfrom a single piece of plain, unwrapped wire, that is bent to form legsIEla, the lower ends of which terminate in prongs I3a, an upper curvedcross member I la and with waved or kinked portions IZa between theupper ends of the legs and the ends of the upper cross member.

In this construction, the intermediate portion of the upper cross memberIIa is bent to form a downwardly and forwardly projecting substantiallyV-shaped tie-engaging pressure finger 2i) and depending from the lowerend thereof is 2. prong 2|.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. '7, a single length ofunwrapped wire is bent to form legs Illb, the lower ends of whichterminate in prongs I3b, an upper curved cross member I Ib with waved orkinked portions I2b between the upper ends of the legs and the ends ofthe upper cross member. In this form of device, the intermediate portionof the upper cross member II is bent to form a downwardly and forwardlyprojecting elongated loop 22 for exerting forward pressure on theknotted portion of the necktie and depending from the lower end of thisloop is a tie engaging prong 23. 7

When my improved holder is applied for use, the curved upper crossmember II is positioned in the front portion of the collar between thecollar band and the depending points of the overlapping front endportion of the collar, with the prongs I3 on the lower ends of the legsI0 engaged in the fabric at the lower ends of the front points of thecollar.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a modified construction wherein the frame isformed in two parts, each comprising a leg such as I00 and an uppercross member part No. The inner end of one of the upper members I I c isextended downwardly and forwardly to form a short resilient tie pressurefinger I5c, the lower end of which terminates in a prong and the innerend of the other upper member I I0 is secured to the upper portion ofthe finger I50 by a loop Ila: of thin sheet metal or wire or, themeeting parts may be connected by welding.

In this construction, the waves or kinks are formed between the upperends of the legs Illc and the outer ends of the upper members I I0.

Thus the front ends of the collar are yieldingly maintained in thedesired flat position so as to present a neat and finished appearanceand the resilient finger that depends from the intermediate portion ofthe upper cross member II exerts outward pressure on the knotted portionof the tie, so as to impart thereto an attractive and well-dressedappearance.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a collar and necktie holderthat is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufactureand very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form andconstruction of th various parts of my improved collar and necktiesupport, may be made and substituted for those herein shown anddescribed, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scopeof which is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A collar and necktie support formed from a single piece of wire bent toform a pair of substantially straight legs, the lower ends of which arepointed to form collar engaging prongs, portions of the upper ends ofthe legs being bent inwardly and outwardly in the same vertical plane asthat occupied by the legs to provide 8- shaped portions, alongitudinally curved upper member connecting the S-shaped upper ends ofsaid legs, the central portion of said curved upper member being bent toform a downwardly and forwardly projecting loop and a prong dependingfrom the lower end of said loop.

DONALD P. KILLEN.

